The Talk
by Lord-Duguerre
Summary: Eugene contemplates his life when the King of Corona interrupts his thoughts by having a conversation a long time coming. A bit of fancy for Tangled fans and fathers everywhere.


The Talk

A Tangled fanfiction by J Miller

The giant hall was silent save for the quiet reflection of the lone occupant. His thoughts were everywhere and nowhere considering the last few weeks of his life. Just over a month ago, Eugene Fitzherbert was an honest swashbuckling thief, traveling across the fair countryside looking for his next score. Back then, he was the notorious Flynn Rider, wooer of both priceless jewels and a self-proclaimed lady's man.

But now, Eugene wondered what he was. Thus, for the past few hours, he had become accustomed to an open access to the King and Queen's entire castle. He felt out of place walking the halls without having to stick to the roofline or the darker corners. Apparently, Eugene had developed a slight habit of jumping slightly whenever a guard nodded in polite greeting.

"I'm sure Maximus has something to do with that," he muttered aloud. He stopped suddenly, hanging his head in defeat. "And now, I'm talking to myself...while looking at old paintings...in a castle."

"Stranger things have happened," replied a deep baritone.

To say Eugene was startled would be an understatement. He'd have sooner have expected the Tooth Fairy come calling with a pot of gold rather than discovering the King standing a few feet away. The professional rogue recovered quickly, but felt his insides curl tightly. Here was the King of the land and the father of the young woman who had stolen his heart. Eugene wasn't looking forward to this particular conversation.

"My leige," bowed Eugene.

"Please," waved the elder man. "I'm hardly one to stand upon ceremony in my own home unless upon official business. Of which," he smiled genuinely. "This is not."

"Oh," Eugene nervously answered. A cold chill still crept up his spine. Various ideas popped in his head about what the King would want to talk to him about, especially if it concerned Rapunzel.

"Enjoying my art collection?" The King inquired.

"Oh!" Eugene started. "Yes, you have good taste." The two men turned to the large canvas depicting a strange scene of seaside pier with what looked like a screaming man in the center. Both King and thief cocked their heads aside as if to get a better understanding of the image from another angle would work. Stealing a glance at one another, the two began to chuckle.

"No, I don't." The King admitted.

"Yeah," Eugene scratched the back of his head. "I got nothing."

"Actually," the King began to walk down the hall. "I want to take this opportunity to converse with the man who found my daughter."

"Sir," Eugene stammered. "I assure I had no knowledge that she was..."

"The Lost Princess?" The King arched his brow. "No, I wouldn't imagine you would...considering your line of work."

"Sir," the rogue was tongue-tied. "If its about the incident with the crown, or the with the Captain of the Guard, or even the escapade with the two bulls and the goat cart..."

"Hold," The King held his hand up. "The bulls and the goat cart?"

"Oh? Perhaps you didn't know about that one..."

"I did," the King laughed. "It gave that dimwhitted Captain fits for a whole month trying to figure out how it happened, much less why."

"It wasn't one of my more memorable moments of thievery," the young man admitted.

"No," smiled the King. "The exploits of Flynn Rider were something of shocking gossip around the royal courts from what my wife tells me. Although, I'm quite certain she may or may not tell me everything about your...'adventures.'"

"Sir! Please, my leige, I only have noble intentions for your daughter and will freely admit that my actions in the past..."

"'Should stay in the world of fiction,' I dare say," the King finished. The rogue caught the knowing glint in the elder man's eyes. There was something about this king Eugene couldn't quite understand. Granted, he didn't know much about him other than he was fair to his subjects, even to his prisoners with exception. But, in truth, there was as much mystery to the King and Queen of this land as they was to the Lost Princess.

"Actually," the King began again. "My question is simple. It concerns this notorious thief known as Flynn Rider. While there are many in the royal guard say that you bare a striking resemblance to him, I do believe my daughter said that she only knows you by your full name, 'Eugene Fitzherbert?'"

Eugene felt that same chill from earlier. Whatever the king may have heard from Rapunzel may have been said to spare him his fate from the gallows, but for some reason, the young man wanted to share the truth. At the very least, he wanted to earn the king's trust, especially if he wanted to continue to court his only daughter.

"'Flynn Rider' was the name I used upon my many adventures across your kingdom along with a few more along the coast," he confessed. "I wanted to make a name for myself and Eugene Fitzherbert wasn't quite as striking nor instilled a sense of awe as Flynn Rider. I took the name as an ode to my favorite book while growing up in an orphanage."

"The Tales of Flynnigan Rider?" inquired the King.

"You know of it?"

"I can say I do," smiled the King. "Ever the popular stories of 'a rich and dashing swashbuckler' with all the money in the world and the freedom of the open ocean at his beck and call."

"That'd be the one. Anyway," Eugene continued. "I changed my name after a few of my own successful but narrow adventures and other than the every changing appearance of my nose in all those wanted posters, it just stuck."

"So," the King stopped. "Your real surname is Fitzherbert?"

"Yes," wondered the young man.

The King suddenly let out a hearty laugh and clasped Eugene on the shoulder with a large, but firm hand. "My dear boy, you have no idea how much that fills my heart with joy."

"Sir?"

"Don't believe everything you read in those old stories," the King stepped away to sit upon one of the many benches along the hall. "I can assuredly tell you half of my 'adventures' in that author's work weren't nearly as fun as he made it out to be. And I'm quite certain the other half weren't even half as believeable."

"Sir?" The puzzled look on Eugene's face made the king smile even wider. He stood, tall and firm, every bit the king he is.

"Let me properly introduce myself," the King cleared his throat. "I am King Flynnigan Archibald Renald Aldophus Rhyder the Third, ruler of the Kingdom of Corona and Lord of the Eastern Isles. Although I am known throughout the land as King, my official title is king consort. The true nobility lies with my wife and my daughter, Rapunzel."

"Wait a second! You're...but that's...wha? Who? How?!" stammered Eugene.

"Good gracious, my boy," smirked the King. "In all those adventures you've read, what was the one constant in all those stories?"

Eugene's mind was a whir with everything that had just happened in the past five minutes. Here he was, a "free" man in a castle he had just burgaled not even a few months prior, chatting with the father of a young woman he had fallen in love with and just now discovering that same man was his childhood hero. To say he was stunned was the biggest understatement of his entire life. He would not have blinked an eye had Maximus and Pascal danced the waltz down the aisle at that very moment.

"Wait," he finally came to his senses. "All your wealth and riches?"

"I've always had a way with money and finance," the King touted as they continued down the hall. "A few choice investments here, and a generous streak of privateering there. Plus, I had a few friends who happened to share my adventures but loved to embellish them, much to my dismay. One of them even decided to make the more believeable ones public, with a few changes to protect certain proprieties."

"But," Eugene interrupted. "I thought the stories ended with you sailing to the far west, to seek new fortunes out there?"

"I did," the King smiled. "Everyone was bored within the month. Nothing but ocean waters as far as the eye could see and not a decent gust of wind to help matters either. Nevertheless to say, all on board made the best of the horrible situation, and I discovered myself beholdened to the kingdom of Corona."

"What happened next?"

"Well," the King continued as they sat down near a set of giant doors. "I won't bore you with the details, but I found myself saving who I thought at the time was a lady's servant from an invading band of bandits, thugs and ruffians."

"No," Eugene relented. "It couldn't have been..."

"Oh, it was." The King replied. "And there hasn't been a day that's gone by where she hasn't reminded me of interrupting her fight with five of them. Held them all at bay with only a heavy candlestick."

Eugene gawked. The thief was slackjawed and in utter amazement that he was sitting next to his very own childhood hero and they were sharing stories about their many adventures. It was as if his only life was a fairy tale.

"Any how," the King surmised. "In the end, I found myself in love with the princess of this wonderful isle, which sadly had no money to provide for this citizens nor the kingdom itself. So, my entire fortune became the dowry for my wife's hand in marriage."

"Really?"

"Oh yes, even her father had said he would've married me with the amount that was given. Instead, he kissed me, of all things." Both men looked behind them to the painting of an elder king, stooped with age but still had a twinkle of life captured in his eyes. Disturbingly, the artist didn't feel it was necessary to omit the amount of mustache on the man's face nor the same amount that seem to grow out of his nostrils. Both shuddered briefly at the very thought.

"So," Eugene started. "All you really wanted to know if my name was really Flynn Rider?"

"Yes," nodded the King.

"No sir," answered Eugene genuinely. "I'll be going by my real name from now on. Rapunzel tells me she likes it more than Flynn."

"Good," the King replied. "I'd hate to have to tell my daughter she couldn't be courted by the man who's captured her heart because they may have been secretly long lost brother and sister."

"Oh gods, NO!" the young man paled.

"Yes," agreed the King. "Let's leave that tale for someone a long time ago..."

"...in a land far, far away," finished the young man.

In that moment, the giant doors opened and two lovely voices could be heard from around the corner.

"I wonder where Eugene and father have disappeared to?" spoke the younger.

"If I know your father, he's probably threatening the young man if he even thinks about laying a hand on you, my dear," answered the Queen.

"He wouldn't," Rapunzel was shocked.

"Oh," spoke up the King. "I would."

"There you are," admonished the Queen with her hands upon her hips. "Please tell me you haven't been scaring the poor boy all this time?"

"Just doing my fatherly duty," said the King with a lighthearted tone.

"Come on, Eugene," Rapunzel pulled the young man to his feet. "We were going to have lunch down in the city. Apparently, Maximus has been so good at his duty that some of the bakers are having a bit of a contest to win royal favor." The young couple raced ahead as the King gave his Queen a quick kiss upon her cheek.

"Oh dear," she smiled. "You didn't tell the boy too much, did you?"

"Oh no," he smirked. "I don't think he'd believe me very much. I merely shared with him the story of how we met."

In the town square, Rapunzel and Eugene shared a look of wonder as a loud booming voice echoed through the city, as if someone had shouted the king's complete name.


End file.
